I can always count on Vongon Replay video comment sections when I’m in the mood for a nice relaxing dumpster fire. Love the video and appreciate your perspective, thanks as always Jorb!
@@JorbLovesGear definitely try the external input, it’s super fun with old instructional videos or nature sounds run through the CB Generation Loss MKII for example.
Synths call for effects even more than electric guitar. I totally agree. On a semi-related but unrelated note, I bought a Hydrasynth Deluxe this past April. I unapologetically love gear just as much as anyone and maybe even you, Jorb. But I watch so many demos and then I turn to the Hydra and make something that, if not identical, then is at least 90-98% there with lots of happy accidents along the way. The Hydra isn't perfect (nothing is), but it's incredibly broad and versatile. I can't justify buying nearly anything anymore. I've inadvertently cured my GAS and now I've never felt so empty. Help meeeeeeee
Awesome. I can always count on you for smart takes on cool, unique, original gear you don't see often on other channels. Whether or not any particular piece of gear is for me, I still appreciate knowing what's out there. Great video!
I wish that they'd pulled this off better. I love how this looks, and it sounds good enough, and I do like the indie-ness of the company, but $900 for an almost-juno with a bunch of hidden menus and a micro-usb is ... sigh. Big sigh. *edit* Now that I've watched the full video, I gotta say ... "let me show you the patches on the web editor because I think it's incomprehensible without that" is ... pretty damning. I know you say it isn't a downside at the end, but with my experience with alt functions it almost certainly is for me. It does sound and look nice though. Oh well. Great video, made the pluses and minuses really clear!
Really cool to see a review of a synth that's been released for longer than negative two weeks and, say, has been played enough to speak on it? I wonder if this will catch on.
The mechanical keyboard is one of the attractive things to me - it's a fun feel, and a very different one. I *vastly* prefer that idea to mini keys personally. Runs on pedalboard power, is tiny and easy to use, mechanical keyboard, integrates into a pedal rig easily, nice-sounding VA engine.
@@JorbLovesGear Yeah, it's really interesting to me - typing this on a mech board, and I got super into them for a hot minute. It's a different way of interacting, and I imagine it'll do different things with my brain. I'm kind of a keyboard snob, so if it's not full keys, Fatar or comparable, then I'd rather have something like this.
At first, I wasn't interested in this at all. But the more I hear it the more it's sounding like something that I'd love to play on. Combine that with the aesthetics and the layout and I think it's actually a pretty good synth. I'm happy to see companies boldly trying new things. Would be interested to see another synth from Vongon as well, implementing the learnings they've had from this one.
@@JorbLovesGear loving this review so far. I think this instrument is really sleek, and sounds great. I wish it was like... $200 less MSRP 😕They did a good job hearkening back to some cool things that vintage synths do, and this makes me really look forward to your JX-8P review (if that's still in the works) because it also has a lot of great tricks with voice allocation, unison modes, and some depth of modulation options that no other analogs at the time had. Here's looking at you Voltage Controlled Mixer...
@@niceheartwhitesuit I need to be better about working it old stuff, the plan is to have a custom patch bank done when the video goes up, but that keeps taking me too long hahaha
Wow such a tremendous demo Jorb, I love the retro use of 4:3. This machine sounds right up my street, it's compact it has controls that look like my SH-101, MC-202 or CS-01. it sounds beautiful. Not cheap at £899 but reflects the quality.
I like the Vongon effects so much that I don’t mind checking out the videos for the synth. The straight forward sequencer is really cool and the rest is pretty vanilla. For a synth player fashion show its cool, but I am not in the show, so that’s some expensive vanilla, for the the price of 4-5 Behringer clones. I’ll take neither for the time being.
Probably should have put a Korg NTS-1 inside that case and sent Midi cc's to it with the controls, it would have been a much more powerful synth. I have a paragraphs pedal and love it, this hurts my head.
Great review of what may be the most divisive synths out there. I have one, got if for the form factor (small space here), sound, and simplicity. Overall I think it delivers on all of that, and it's probably the synth I break out the most often. Yeah it's got its quirks, but what doesn't ? Not convinced on the keyboard, but not sure a 'mini keyboard' would have been any better either at this size. It does get the job done, and if you know mechanical keyboards, you can improve it by changing out the switches or just playing with lubrication. I genuinely don't like the white text, it is very hard to read. Wish there were a hold function, but at least you can activate that with a sustain pedal. But those are minor gripes and like you said, it's the fact that you can easily get great sounds out of it that makes it for me, that and the form factor turn it into a winner. Ok maybe it's a bit pricey, but it's a 6 voice poly synth in a very custom package, I'm not sure I'd call it a bargain, but also not a rip-off by any means.
The envelope thing is the same on the Moog Grandmother. It has gate + release and envelope, but not gate (instead it has drone). The UDO Super 6 has a the same options as the vongon, but with a second envelope. Gate + release is really nice though. Often a VCA envelope is just release anyway. I wish the Perfourmer had it
Egh. Love vongon’s pedals but to me this is far too little for far too much. Overall sound is nice, but for a digital juno-inspired sound, it’s all a bit underwhelming. One thing that would knock it up a notch for me is if it had an internal battery for portability (or at least could run off of batteries?) it’s hard to imagine anybody who could easily afford this who wouldn’t already be taking advantage of better options in that price range. And at that price range, they could have EASILY included an internal battery and still made a profit on it.
Battery (or able to take batteries), USB-C, wood sides, readable markings (even if still light) you can see in normal lighting, and you'd approach it starting to be worth around $650 for me tops. Vongon's pedals are beautiful, imagine if this looked like those at the very least? They would have matched and probably sold pedals to go along with it.
@@Eli_B3000 yea exactly. i don’t even hate the look of it, or the ergonomics. it’s simple and it’s digital but seems to sound nice enough. it just seems like the perfect gear to make portable. anybody who would buy this surely has synths in their home studio. probably real analog ones with actual keys. so why would you play this thing over those?? it would end up being studio clutter i think, whereas the battery option would make it great for travel and outdoor jams. even the yamaha reface series have greater functionality than this thing at half the price.
I love Vongon pedals, but $900 for a mono-channel synth that has a panel which is actively hostile to people with accessibility issues and avoids menu diving by connecting to a web interface via micro USB makes me want to write sentences like this and then defenestrate. Me or the Replay. Either works in this context.
Boy, this synth sure causes a lot of extreme feelings. I dunno, I think it looks badass and I love the size for my setup…is it enough synth for the money…?
This video sold me until i saw the price. Yikes. My Minifreak was $600 and has a thousand features. Not sure if it's greed or this thing really costs that much to make?
Wow, this was great. Like the wait to lget to know”. But, was wondering about the keyboard and good to see you noted it’s using standard switches in the description. As for the price it seems much of those who clicked on the video should stick to the B3irin&er channels for something in your price range. (Just get the knock-off and go back to putting a wrap on your Cybertruck). But, comparing it to the Black Corporation synths and used Juno/*Poly, it’s a decent deal; and well made by a small company it’s good to see new ideas on old tech. I’m a bit annoyed by the low contrast labeling, but…might be good for just playing around and just tweaking in the moment.
@@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045 this is a certified bad take. To put my cards on the table, this synthesizer literally offends me. But what tf do you have against art and hand made furniture? It'd be like saying this thing sucks like spending time with the people you love. Why not compare it to something that is actually terrible? I suggest "perfect for people who collect truffle infused oils".
@pjforde1978 don't get me wrong I have nothing against hand made furniture and art. As long as I they don't cost an arm and a leg. If a coffee table costs 1000$ then a vongon synth is a good choice. I ve been to toilets that instead of books/ magazines had organelles and pocket pianos to pass the time while pooping 💩.
@@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045 real talk... that's freaking disgusting, man. You are hanging out in weird places. Also: it's clear that you have no idea how much wood slabs cost, or how long it takes to make anything worth having.
The design? It is an inscrutable eyesore to me. It sounds fine, but given its limitations, it ought to sound fine. The keyboard is silly. Whatever - people respond to different things. Saying it gets beyond what one can do with the Juno or PolySix is, however, just wrong. No doubt you did not mean that quite as absolutely as it sounded, but you said it. RUclips gear people obviously got sent a lot of these, because it has certainly made the rounds. I just can't imagine buying this synthesizer. But then I am silly enough to think labels for functions are a good, desirable thing to include.
I can always count on Vongon Replay video comment sections when I’m in the mood for a nice relaxing dumpster fire.
Love the video and appreciate your perspective, thanks as always Jorb!
@@saggygnaw 😭😭🙏🙏
@@JorbLovesGear definitely try the external input, it’s super fun with old instructional videos or nature sounds run through the CB Generation Loss MKII for example.
@@JorbLovesGeardude your presets are fantastic, thanks for sharing!
Synths call for effects even more than electric guitar. I totally agree.
On a semi-related but unrelated note, I bought a Hydrasynth Deluxe this past April. I unapologetically love gear just as much as anyone and maybe even you, Jorb. But I watch so many demos and then I turn to the Hydra and make something that, if not identical, then is at least 90-98% there with lots of happy accidents along the way. The Hydra isn't perfect (nothing is), but it's incredibly broad and versatile. I can't justify buying nearly anything anymore. I've inadvertently cured my GAS and now I've never felt so empty. Help meeeeeeee
Awesome. I can always count on you for smart takes on cool, unique, original gear you don't see often on other channels. Whether or not any particular piece of gear is for me, I still appreciate knowing what's out there. Great video!
I wish that they'd pulled this off better. I love how this looks, and it sounds good enough, and I do like the indie-ness of the company, but $900 for an almost-juno with a bunch of hidden menus and a micro-usb is ... sigh. Big sigh.
*edit* Now that I've watched the full video, I gotta say ... "let me show you the patches on the web editor because I think it's incomprehensible without that" is ... pretty damning. I know you say it isn't a downside at the end, but with my experience with alt functions it almost certainly is for me.
It does sound and look nice though. Oh well. Great video, made the pluses and minuses really clear!
Lovely overview! I’m looking forward to the Jorb signature series mirror
HA the one in this video was on my moped for awhile, I realized it could articulate without using my clamps and ran to the garage to get it.
Really cool to see a review of a synth that's been released for longer than negative two weeks and, say, has been played enough to speak on it? I wonder if this will catch on.
The mechanical keyboard is one of the attractive things to me - it's a fun feel, and a very different one. I *vastly* prefer that idea to mini keys personally.
Runs on pedalboard power, is tiny and easy to use, mechanical keyboard, integrates into a pedal rig easily, nice-sounding VA engine.
@@JonathanKillstring the keyboard is sort of like an "on neat" to me, and not part of it's strongest features. Nice to see someone who's hyped on it!
this sounds nice
@@JorbLovesGear Yeah, it's really interesting to me - typing this on a mech board, and I got super into them for a hot minute.
It's a different way of interacting, and I imagine it'll do different things with my brain. I'm kind of a keyboard snob, so if it's not full keys, Fatar or comparable, then I'd rather have something like this.
At first, I wasn't interested in this at all. But the more I hear it the more it's sounding like something that I'd love to play on. Combine that with the aesthetics and the layout and I think it's actually a pretty good synth.
I'm happy to see companies boldly trying new things. Would be interested to see another synth from Vongon as well, implementing the learnings they've had from this one.
what an amazing piece! The way you play and present these instruments are so inspiring :)
It's Jorbin' time!
when he said that, that was my favorite part
@@JorbLovesGear loving this review so far. I think this instrument is really sleek, and sounds great. I wish it was like... $200 less MSRP 😕They did a good job hearkening back to some cool things that vintage synths do, and this makes me really look forward to your JX-8P review (if that's still in the works) because it also has a lot of great tricks with voice allocation, unison modes, and some depth of modulation options that no other analogs at the time had. Here's looking at you Voltage Controlled Mixer...
@@niceheartwhitesuit I need to be better about working it old stuff, the plan is to have a custom patch bank done when the video goes up, but that keeps taking me too long hahaha
I Jorbed all over my jorts when I saw the notification
epic
aw hell yeah love some of that (JORB)ASMR it soothes my soul and brings me happiness
Thanks for this. I am probably going to order one this week.
I enjoy any new installment of Synthesist’s Guide to Pedals (whether officially designated as such or not) 🙏
Wow such a tremendous demo Jorb, I love the retro use of 4:3. This machine sounds right up my street, it's compact it has controls that look like my SH-101, MC-202 or CS-01. it sounds beautiful. Not cheap at £899 but reflects the quality.
I like the Vongon effects so much that I don’t mind checking out the videos for the synth. The straight forward sequencer is really cool and the rest is pretty vanilla. For a synth player fashion show its cool, but I am not in the show, so that’s some expensive vanilla, for the the price of 4-5 Behringer clones. I’ll take neither for the time being.
Looks like something Love Hulten would design.
I think the Malekko Manther has that Oscillator level delay .
Probably should have put a Korg NTS-1 inside that case and sent Midi cc's to it with the controls, it would have been a much more powerful synth. I have a paragraphs pedal and love it, this hurts my head.
Great review of what may be the most divisive synths out there. I have one, got if for the form factor (small space here), sound, and simplicity. Overall I think it delivers on all of that, and it's probably the synth I break out the most often.
Yeah it's got its quirks, but what doesn't ?
Not convinced on the keyboard, but not sure a 'mini keyboard' would have been any better either at this size. It does get the job done, and if you know mechanical keyboards, you can improve it by changing out the switches or just playing with lubrication.
I genuinely don't like the white text, it is very hard to read.
Wish there were a hold function, but at least you can activate that with a sustain pedal.
But those are minor gripes and like you said, it's the fact that you can easily get great sounds out of it that makes it for me, that and the form factor turn it into a winner. Ok maybe it's a bit pricey, but it's a 6 voice poly synth in a very custom package, I'm not sure I'd call it a bargain, but also not a rip-off by any means.
The envelope thing is the same on the Moog Grandmother. It has gate + release and envelope, but not gate (instead it has drone). The UDO Super 6 has a the same options as the vongon, but with a second envelope. Gate + release is really nice though. Often a VCA envelope is just release anyway. I wish the Perfourmer had it
Egh. Love vongon’s pedals but to me this is far too little for far too much. Overall sound is nice, but for a digital juno-inspired sound, it’s all a bit underwhelming. One thing that would knock it up a notch for me is if it had an internal battery for portability (or at least could run off of batteries?) it’s hard to imagine anybody who could easily afford this who wouldn’t already be taking advantage of better options in that price range. And at that price range, they could have EASILY included an internal battery and still made a profit on it.
Battery (or able to take batteries), USB-C, wood sides, readable markings (even if still light) you can see in normal lighting, and you'd approach it starting to be worth around $650 for me tops. Vongon's pedals are beautiful, imagine if this looked like those at the very least? They would have matched and probably sold pedals to go along with it.
@@Eli_B3000 yea exactly. i don’t even hate the look of it, or the ergonomics. it’s simple and it’s digital but seems to sound nice enough. it just seems like the perfect gear to make portable. anybody who would buy this surely has synths in their home studio. probably real analog ones with actual keys. so why would you play this thing over those?? it would end up being studio clutter i think, whereas the battery option would make it great for travel and outdoor jams. even the yamaha reface series have greater functionality than this thing at half the price.
I love Vongon pedals, but $900 for a mono-channel synth that has a panel which is actively hostile to people with accessibility issues and avoids menu diving by connecting to a web interface via micro USB makes me want to write sentences like this and then defenestrate. Me or the Replay. Either works in this context.
I believe this is a polysynth though.
@@Eli_B3000 apologies, you are correct and I miscommunicated. What I meant to convey is that this device is mono, as opposed to stereo.
I saw a lady wearing a shirt that had your face on it and said “free jorb.” I had to come to make sure you weren’t locked up. 😂
Boy, this synth sure causes a lot of extreme feelings. I dunno, I think it looks badass and I love the size for my setup…is it enough synth for the money…?
I missed you, Jorb. *sheepyhugs*
This video sold me until i saw the price. Yikes. My Minifreak was $600 and has a thousand features. Not sure if it's greed or this thing really costs that much to make?
yeah it's greed haha. this thing is god awful
only shills are promoting this thing. it's a genuine piece of crap as a value proposition
"FOUR POLE LOW-PASS"
@@jacobchristie727 new strat for when I say something wrong 😭😭
@@JorbLovesGear love it, it just made me laugh lol
Between this and nymphes, which one do you prefer?
Wow, this was great. Like the wait to lget to know”. But, was wondering about the keyboard and good to see you noted it’s using standard switches in the description. As for the price it seems much of those who clicked on the video should stick to the B3irin&er channels for something in your price range. (Just get the knock-off and go back to putting a wrap on your Cybertruck). But, comparing it to the Black Corporation synths and used Juno/*Poly, it’s a decent deal; and well made by a small company it’s good to see new ideas on old tech. I’m a bit annoyed by the low contrast labeling, but…might be good for just playing around and just tweaking in the moment.
best demo of this thing I’ve seen
I ❤️🔥 Jorb
seems like the longest lfo delay setting isn't very long?
Dear lord.
I have the budget version (Roland JU-06a)
No way! Are they still trying to sell that thing? I mean, good luck to them, genuinely, but for nine large the amount of synth you can get…
This thing makes the OP-1 look like a good value.
This thing, among others, is for upper class amateur musicians who also buy art and hand made furniture.
Nothing wrong with that.
@@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045 this is a certified bad take. To put my cards on the table, this synthesizer literally offends me. But what tf do you have against art and hand made furniture? It'd be like saying this thing sucks like spending time with the people you love. Why not compare it to something that is actually terrible? I suggest "perfect for people who collect truffle infused oils".
@pjforde1978 don't get me wrong I have nothing against hand made furniture and art. As long as I they don't cost an arm and a leg. If a coffee table costs 1000$ then a vongon synth is a good choice.
I ve been to toilets that instead of books/ magazines had organelles and pocket pianos to pass the time while pooping 💩.
@@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045 real talk... that's freaking disgusting, man. You are hanging out in weird places.
Also: it's clear that you have no idea how much wood slabs cost, or how long it takes to make anything worth having.
what is the circular oscilloscope you are using?
@@sink_ that's just a mirror pointed at my scope, there's a full video on it
No way to get to glide without plugging into editor?
@@dnaflr2 shift + lfo delay is glide
Yeah fun if you got it for free but it's $900 for a 6 voice 1 osc VA
I enjoy your gear advertisements the most of anyone on the youtubes
It sucks people are being forced to buy this
What if they made an ugly synth
The design? It is an inscrutable eyesore to me. It sounds fine, but given its limitations, it ought to sound fine.
The keyboard is silly.
Whatever - people respond to different things. Saying it gets beyond what one can do with the Juno or PolySix is, however, just wrong. No doubt you did not mean that quite as absolutely as it sounded, but you said it.
RUclips gear people obviously got sent a lot of these, because it has certainly made the rounds. I just can't imagine buying this synthesizer. But then I am silly enough to think labels for functions are a good, desirable thing to include.
I did mean that, the extra oscillator and LFO waveforms alone let it do a ton more.
Huh? I think the design is its biggest draw. I find it quite pretty. Each to their own I guess...